About the book:

William C. Rhoden’s “40 Million Dollar Slave” Is a great connection to the sports world back in the 1960s and to the present. The book shows how in what ways black athletes were still victim to a sort of Slavery, different, yet so similar. The book also tells a story on how many different occasions integration changed the athletic world forever. There are many themes that catch the reader’s attention while reading; however, there seems to be one main message being conveyed when you read “Forty Million Dollar Slave” and that is African American Athletes were still slaves to the industry even though they were getting paid millions of dollars. The book is about how in society although the black athlete had the leeway in the athletic world, they still are not in full control of their lives, and their destinies; they were not yet liberated or emancipated. Even though they do get paid to do what they do they are still controlled by the white man and the industry. Understanding the book is understanding the influence og white owners in sports and how black athletes may get paid well but they are still under the pressures of the white owner.  Hence bringing forth the title 40 Million Dollar Slave saying all the money you are being paid and you are still a slave

“Though integration was a major pivot in the history of the black athlete, it was not for the positive reasons we so often hear about. Integration fixed in place myriad problems: a destructive power dynamic between black talent and white ownership; a chronic psychological burden for black athletes, who constantly had to prove their worth; disconnection of the athlete from his or her community; and the emergence of the apolitical black athlete, who had to be careful what he or she said or stood for, so as not to offend white paymasters.” (142)

William C. Rhoden, Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete